Family & Life Magazine Issue 8 | Page 14

payroll and I’ve never evaluated them on the basis of their homosexual behaviour; I evaluate them based on their competence and I’ve never discriminated against them as people. My main concern is making this particular sexual behaviour a societal norm, where marriages are redefined. I am adamantly against this push to not just normalise this, but to club those on the heads who object to this. To me, it’s not fair that I am unable to speak out and that I’m branded as a hate speech monger and a bigot when I object to this. That’s reverse discrimination. There’s a lot of inconsistency in the language they use. They are asking for tolerance but are not tolerant of those who speak out. However, I will go on speaking what I believe is right and what is best for society. Even though not every heterosexual couple will have children, at least every child will have a father and a mother. of masculinity and femininity, then the only models are their parents. But, increasingly, we have become a society where anything goes and where the traditional family model of a father and mother is breaking up. Let me tell you: I would be the first to stand up for a homosexual if he or she is doing a good job in the company but is fired solely on the basis of homosexuality. They’ve been around for a long time and if someone makes them feel lousy, then we should stand up for them. However, by changing the laws, we have to think of the social implications and costs. We have a responsibility to shape our society into what is good in the long run. Our marriages are already having problems (and I’m not blaming the homosexual community for this); we need to strengthen this and changing the laws will only create further complications. ...from pg12 point of time, I was extremely busy with the opportunities that I was given and the success I had slowly accumulated. I was travelling so much that unfortunately, I was absent from my children’s lives. It was just for a couple of years but it was during the period when my children’s values were being crystallised and when they were finally forging their own identity. In these crucial years, if you are not intensely engaged in their growth, then the efforts you have made in the past will be wiped out just like that. Could you share with me what exactly happened? Sure. My eldest daughter, who is working with me now on my magic shows, formed her own set of values during adolescence based on her interactions with her friends. I’ve come to realised that, at that age, friends are more important than family. Of course, as you know, she became a single mother. It took me a long time to really engage with her but thankfully, we did. This whole episode of her being a single mother and me accepting it has demonstrated to her that I love her even though I might disagree with the choice she made. There have been a number of people who called you a hypocrite because you turned a blind eye to the faults of your daughter. I think a hypocrite is someone who pretends to be something that they’re not. However, I’ve always been a transparent person, so when my daughter became a single mother, I spoke to my church and shared with them my problems. I was very 14 Family & Life • May 2014 accountable to them and I’ve not tried to make something right when it was wrong. For my daughter, I’ve always told her that she’s done something wrong but I’ve also always said that there are no illegitimate children on this earth; there are only illegitimate parents. I’ve never said that anybody is perfect and beyond reproach. In fact, it’s probably because I’m so open that my attackers know more about me than other public figures. I’ve never hidden anything. By using my daughter to attack me, it reveals more of themselves than it reveals of me! I love my grandson and he has really pulled the whole family together. Your stance on homosexuality has been well-documented in the media. First, I am not just against homosexuality. As a Christian, I am against any form of sexual immorality – whether it’s premarital or extramarital, whether it’s heterosexual or homosexual. Objecting to it doesn’t mean that I go around condemning this behaviour. I have friends who are divorced or have slept around, but we still hang out even though I don’t agree with their lifestyles. Second, I have worked with homosexuals and I’ve never had any problems accepting them. There are actually a few of them on my I’ve read many report 2F